Live: Pike County murder trial continues Wednesday with interview of Wagner's father

Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read
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Attorneys for George Wagner IV again called for a mistrial after the prosecution played a nearly two-hour recorded interview between Wagner IV's father and an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation special agent.

In the video, George "Billy" Wagner III talked to an agent about his friend Chris Rhoden Sr., one of the eight victims shot to death in 2016 in Pike County. Wagner IV is facing 22 counts related with the shooting deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family in 2016.

Billy Wagner talked about Rhoden's marijuana business and said he had been expecting a large shipment of the drug.

Billy Wagner said locals could not have committed the Rhoden killings. "That ain't no bunch of hillbillies done that," he said in an interview secretly recorded in a Kroger parking lot.

After prosecutors played the interview, attorney John Parker called for it to be stricken from the record and for a mistrial in the case. Prosecutors maintained BCI's interview with Wagner III will eventually connect the accused to the crimes. Judge Randy Deering immediately overruled both requests.

Wagner IV's attorneys previously asked for a mistrial Sept. 21 over use of graphic images from victim autopsies.

Billy Wagner has also pleaded not guilty and is facing 22 counts in the Rhoden killings, including eight for aggravated murder. He will be tried next year.

On Monday, two family friends and Wagner IV's former wife, Tabitha Claytor, described Wagner family dynamics. Wagner IV's mother, Angela Wagner, made many of their decisions, witnesses said.

On Tuesday, Claytor called the Wagner family "strange and controlling" during a full day of testimony.

More family members are expected to testify moving forward.

Here's the afternoon report via Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Pike County murder trial: Interview with George Wagner's father